Re: James Dean Lucky Pocket Watch

The provenance seems a bit light; it's a turn of the century watch alleged to have been bought second hand by James Dean, according to the person he gave it to. They dial states "Standard U.S.A", which normally refers to N.Y. Standard watch company, they describe it as having 5 jewels, and claim that both the movement and case are signed. I'm guessing it's actually a NY Standard pocket watch in an Elgin WatchCase Company case, and that the people at Antiquorium need to take a "pocket watch 101" course.

Re: James Dean Lucky Pocket Watch

Originally Posted by AbslomRob

The provenance seems a bit light; it's a turn of the century watch alleged to have been bought second hand by James Dean, according to the person he gave it to. They dial states "Standard U.S.A", which normally refers to N.Y. Standard watch company, they describe it as having 5 jewels, and claim that both the movement and case are signed. I'm guessing it's actually a NY Standard pocket watch in an Elgin WatchCase Company case, and that the people at Antiquorium need to take a "pocket watch 101" course.

Not sure that matters, it could be a sand timer - its 'just' if the provenance proves it was owned by James Dean.
If it was not, then Antiquorium will be in big trouble

A

NEVER ARGUE WITH AN IDIOT. FIRST THEY WILL DRAG YOU DOWN TO THEIR LEVEL. THEN, THEY WILL BEAT YOU WITH EXPERIENCE.

"Failure is not an option" - Gene Kranz
"Owning a vintage watch is great, understanding where it sits in Horology is magnificent"
and
"By Teaching Others, We Teach Ourselves"
Adam

Re: James Dean Lucky Pocket Watch

I'm rather bemused by their statement " In the movie East of Eden, he is seen wearing this watch with an alternative cover in order to hide his initials “J.D”."

Maybe I'm cynical, but an alternative cover? I'm pretty sure it would have been easier to just get some other pocket watch; how exactly would you put an "alternative cover" on a turn-of-the-century hunter-cased pocket watch?

Re: James Dean Lucky Pocket Watch

Originally Posted by AbslomRob

I'm rather bemused by their statement " In the movie East of Eden, he is seen wearing this watch with an alternative cover in order to hide his initials “J.D”."

Maybe I'm cynical, but an alternative cover? I'm pretty sure it would have been easier to just get some other pocket watch; how exactly would you put an "alternative cover" on a turn-of-the-century hunter-cased pocket watch?

Who knows - its all about 'commercial' marketing LOL

NEVER ARGUE WITH AN IDIOT. FIRST THEY WILL DRAG YOU DOWN TO THEIR LEVEL. THEN, THEY WILL BEAT YOU WITH EXPERIENCE.

"Failure is not an option" - Gene Kranz
"Owning a vintage watch is great, understanding where it sits in Horology is magnificent"
and
"By Teaching Others, We Teach Ourselves"
Adam

Re: James Dean Lucky Pocket Watch

Yeah, to a point. It bugs me in this particular case becuase Antiquorium markets themselves as "The World's Premier Auctioneers of Modern and Vintage Timepieces", yet they seem to be making mistakes that would make even a novice collector question their horological experience. I might forgive them if it was just one of the many generic watches they were auctioning; I wouldn't necessarily expect them to do a detailed inspection of every piece they handle. But this is a headlining piece that they're splashing all over their webpage and getting reviews of. Would it kill them to post a movement shot?